planetarium

[plan-i-tair-ee-uhm]

noun

plural

planetariums, planetaria 

1. an apparatus or model representing the planetary system.

2. a device that produces a representation of the heavens by the use of a number of moving projectors.

3. the building or room in which such a device is housed.

planetarium

/ ˌplænɪˈtɛərɪəm /

noun

1. an instrument for simulating the apparent motions of the sun, moon, and planets against a background of stars by projecting images of these bodies onto the inside of a domed ceiling

2. a building in which such an instrument is housed

3. a model of the solar system, sometimes mechanized to show the relative motions of the planets

Word History and Origins

Origin of planetarium¹

1765–75; < New Latin, noun use of neuter of Latin planētārius planetary; -arium

Example Sentences

The stage transforms into a planetarium of wonder.

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Think of the new Inglewood venue as a planetarium for the next generation.

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The firm owns Spitz Inc., the planetarium endeavor founded in the 1940s by Armand Spitz, a principal in the field.

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The parade will start June 3, when Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will be aligned, according to Star Walk Astronomical News, a planetarium phone app.

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At the restaurant’s center is a large planetarium dome, where guests eat surrounded by projections of Earth seen from space, oceans, forests, even a beating heart.

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